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Mayor of London urges Government to expand Free School Meals

25th Nov 2022 - 07:00
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The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has urged the Government to immediately increase benefits and provide free school meals to all primary schoolchildren to help Londoners through the winter, as the spiralling cost of living is leaving the most vulnerable at ‘crisis point’.

Khan visited London’s Community Kitchen in Harrow to see the work that it is doing to feed thousands of families across the capital, providing cooking skills to young people as well as teaching children about sustainability and nutrition.    

He said: “The spiralling cost of living is hitting Londoners very hard and without urgent action from the Government millions of people will be wondering how they will cope this winter. London’s Community Kitchen is doing incredible work to help thousands of families get by every single week but the level of demand it faces is a national disgrace and it only looks set to get worse in the coming months.

“I’m doing all I can to support Londoners and try to build a fairer and more prosperous city for all Londoners, but Government needs to step forward with action now and use the powers it has to ensure that the most vulnerable are helped this winter and not abandoned to deal with this crisis alone.”

According to research around 8% of Londoners are occasionally going without food and 6% are regularly going without food. Around 86% of Londoners say they are experiencing financial hardship and that they will struggle to afford their regular household shop in the next six months.

Chef and London’s Community Kitchen patron Tom Kerridge, added: “I will continue to call on the Government to help those who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. We should not be relying on food banks, and our children should not be going to school hungry, the Government need to act now.”

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Written by
Edward Waddell